Category: Programs

Marjorie Meekhoff, Founder and President of Pollinator Pathway East Lyme will instruct us on the importance of our native insects and bumblebees. Native insects, including butterflies, are in trouble but we can help them.  There are easy ways to help them which, in turn, helps our environment.  Following the presentation there will be time for questions.  Register by Nov 10th.

Fri, Nov 12th at 11am

4 weeks (no class 11/26)

$20R/$25NR

Come have fun with us & make some clay sculpting pieces.

Registration begins Nov 1st.

12:30  –  2:30pm

$35R/ $39NR

Must purchase a Mah Jongg card

before the class begins.

Register with the Senior Center immediately

Starting Monday, November 15th we will be taking a limited number of PRE ORDERS for Grab n Go Thanksgiving meals at the front desk. These premade, refrigerated, grab & go Thanksgiving meals are $15.00 each. Serving size: 2 persons. Last day to order is Friday, November 19. Call 860-441-6785. Local delivery available for $2.00 fee per household. There is a limit of 2 meals per household. Simply heat and serve. Pick up 10am–1pm on Wednesday, November 24th. The menu: Roasted turkey, Bread stuffing, Gravy, Mashed red potatoes, Green bean almandine, Cranberry sauce, roll, pie.

You can reserve a table of 4 or 8 by having all the names and payment when registering.
Please call 860-441-6785 to register. 

Need help with your laptop, tablet, smart phone? Maybe you just need a refresher in Excel or need a little reminder with your Mac? We have you covered!

Let us know what your need is and we will match you up with one of our awesome Technology Center volunteers. We are very excited to have these new volunteers join us- their time, knowledge and experience is greatly appreciated!

We do ONE-ON-ONE appointments for anyone 55 and older. We listen to your needs and work at your pace. We have added to our amazing volunteers—we have several new faces who can help with various technology needs. Please call so we can best match you  up and schedule an appointment- you important to us. Please call 860-445-1057 to make  an appointment  in person or virtually with our GSC Technology Center.

TECH TALK program – join us for weekly insights on current Tech trends – Thursdays at 9 am

Free of Charge
One positive outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic is an increased number of home gardens devoted to vegetables
and ornamentals. You may have a picture in mind when you hear the term “Raised Bed” and it will probably fit
into at least one of the many forms of raised beds.
We’ll talk about the size and style of raised bed that fits your needs, the soil or growing medium to use, how to
organize your planting, and steps to take through the growing season. Whether you are solely a vegetable or
ornamental grower there’s a benefit to using raised beds for your gardening needs.

BIO AND THE MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM Ray Hasson is an advanced Master Gardener having taken the UConn Master Gardener course after retiring from a Navy and civilian career. He developed a passion for gardening while growing up in Bermuda. The English school system he attended while his father was stationed there included class time devoted to gardening. He has tried his hand at having a vegetable, or at least tomato, garden wherever he’s lived. He held off taking the Master Gardener course until he could devote his time to the course. Which was NOT what he expected and he jokingly says he’s embarrassed about constantly telling Sister Mary-Margaret that Latin was a dead language. Ray volunteers both in the New London County Extension office in Norwich and in community outreach programs. He and all certified Master Gardeners help local gardeners and to a limited extent farmers and orchardists in identification of insects, diseases, plants, and answer their questions about how to grow or control the plants on their property. You will also see Master Gardeners at fairs, farmers markets, schools, and other locations providing important information about the things that grow in Connecticut. They raise public knowledge about invasive plants and insects. Some of those, Emerald Ash Borers, and Spotted Lantern Flies can have a significant impact on the state’s trees, agriculture, and farm workers.

Please won’t you assist us in decking the halls? Come join us for afternoon refreshments and entertainment while we celebrate our amazing volunteers and decorate our Center together. Please help us spruce up for the upcoming holiday season. You can bring your own ornaments /decorations or use ours to decorate for the festivities. All are welcome for a Jolly time! RSVP 860-441-6785

Somehow, we all need to help change the perception of what the definition of ‘old people’ really is. What a ‘senior’ is. What ‘old’ means.

We all have that picture in our head of what old is until we get there. Then ‘oh but that’s not me’.

Think about it… When you’re 13 – 30 is OLD! When you’re in your early 20’s – 45 is ancient! Never mind 65!!

Then you see a guy at the hardware store loading his truck. He offers to help you (you being 30) and you get to talking and then you realize he’s in his 70’s and not old at all.

Odds are that volunteer fireman that shows up is 50+ if not 70 because the younger generation doesn’t have time to volunteer.

You get to talking to a neighbor about your kids, school and all. She offers some help. You’re grateful. It’s really good advice that will help. Later you chuckle when you realize she could be your grandmother.

You then start looking around and realize the school crossing guard has been there for like 8 years and you know he started doing that after he had been retired for a while. The lady who just checked you out at the store has to be at least that old. And wait the delivery guy is retiring next month. Three teachers at school retired last year.

Then it’s like ‘Hey wait that will be me in 10 years. And I sure am NOT ‘old’.

We all need to keep in mind that all these ‘old’ people are much younger than people of the same age a generation or two ago. They are out there working, enjoying hobbies, volunteering, at the gym, hiking and exercising. They are on social media, online, and signing up on the dating sites. They are bloggers, shopping and surfing the web right along with the rest of us.

These ‘old’ people run marathons, play pickleball, go out dancing, and travel more than the rest of us.

I’ll bet a lot of people you see when you’re out and about that you might think are in their 50’s, are really in their 70’s. Those people you see who are ‘old’ are probably closer to 90. Yes!! 90!!

So, lets rethink what defines ‘old’. Let’s not dismiss an age group just because we think they are ‘old’. Remember if you’re lucky you’ll reach that point in your life. And when you do hope you are as young as today’s ‘old’ people!!

And reach out to those you think of as ‘seniors’ and make a friend – they are younger and more fun than you think!!